Heat exchange systems for cooling and cleaning contaminated heated gases



Jane 14, 1960 E. UMBRICHT 2,940,733

HEAT EXCHANGE SYSTEMS FOR COOLING AND CLEANING CONTAMINATED HEATED GASES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 8, 1956 INVENTOR EM/L (/MB/P/Cl/f BY dam, Wm m m ATTQRN EYs June 14, 1960 E. UMBRICHT 2,94 ,7

HEAT EXCHANGE SYbTEMS FOR COOLING AND CLEANING CONTAMINATED HEATED GASES Filed 001:. 8, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 AND PART/c155 AIR FIG. 2; 9 E] 25 2 INVENTOR //6 53 M/l. (Mme/m7 BY 6L4 #M': 231% 90v ATTORNEY5 June 14, 1960 E. UMBRICHT I-iEAT EXCHANGE SYbTEMS FOR COOLING AND CLEANING CONTAMINATED HEATED GASES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 8, 1956 m T N E V m EM/L UMBE/C'HT film ri/ mg ATTORNEY5 United States Patent HEAT EXCHANGE SYSTEMS FOR COOLING AND CLEANING CONTAMINATED HEATED GASES Emil Umbricht, Jackson, Mich., assignor to Ajem L ahoratories, Inc., Livonia, Mich., a corporation of Mich- Filed Oct. 8, 1956, Ser. No. 614,566

4 .Claims- ('31- 2 T he present invention relates to improved heat exchange systems for cooling and cleaning contaminated heated gases and for extracting the heat from the gases for further utilization. More particularly, this invention relates to improved heat exchange systems capable of handling large volumes of rapidly moving gases initially at high temperatures and containing in suspension substantial :amounts of particles of various sizes. This improved heat exchange apparatus described as an illustrative embodiment of the invention is particularly well suited for use in industrial installations wherein the incoming velocity of these hot gases is high and the gases must be passed through the apparatus at a rapid rate while at the same :time a high efiiciency is obtained in the extraction of useful heat from the gases.

The illustrative embodiment of this invention described in detail in this specification is a heat exchanger extremely well suited for use in the most diflic'ult and rugged installations. This apparatus is well suited for handling the large volumes of very high temperature gases containing large amount of suspended solid particles which are discharged from various industrial furnaces, for example, such as metal treating furnaces. In the illustrative embodiment of this invention described herein the furnace from which the contaminated hot gases are being discharged is a cupola furnace of the type used in large iron and steel foundries. The improved washing apparatus described herein for cleaning the gases prior to discharge into the air is of the type wherein the gases to be washed are passed through a. dense spray of washing liquid created by a centrifugal type spray generating cage positioned near the center of a gas-washing chamber;

The improved heat exchange system of the present invention is particularly well suited for use in industrial installations of the type which require the cleaning of vast quantities of extremely high temperature gases holding substantial amounts of solid particles, such as fly ash and oxide particles. In the apparatus described these gases are handled efliciently while being allowed to pass through at a high rate of speed, and nevertheless this apparatus advantageously obtains an eflicient extraction of the heat from the gases just prior to the washing operation. The washing operation is carried on rapidly and obtains a substantially complete removal of all of the particles from the gases prior to their discharge into the atmosphere.

In various industries today, there are many different types of high temperature furnaces that discharge gases which must be cooled and cleaned before being discharged into the atmosphere. Good. examples of these are the cupola furnaces, which discharge large volumes of gases at relatively high temperatures heavily loaded with solid particles of all sizes. These particles range in size from small clinkers to ultra-microscopic particles of fly ash, carbon and finelydivided iron and iron oxide and other oxides. Along with these particles are often discharged considerable quantities of carbon monoxide which must be burned to prevent explosion during the iatented June 14, 1960 cooling and washing. This burning of the carbon monoxide usually occurs'at the top of the cupola furnace, but in many cases the flaming gas continues over into-the short side ducts which can the gases and solid particles directly to the heat exchanger. As a result, gases reaching the heat exchanger described herein are usually of a temperature near 1500 F.

In the operation of a cupola furnace such as described, it is most desirable for eflicient operation that the fresh air being fed into the intake at the bottom of the furnace should be heated up to a relatively high temperature. The hot gases coming from the top of the furnace in being cooled down are used to preheat the fresh intake air before it is fed into the bottom of the furnace. The improved heat exchanger system described herein is rugged in construction and easy to maintain and is highly eflective in producing the desired cooling of the exhaust gases and in warming up the fresh intake air.

There is also another reason why it is desirable to cool down the gases being discharged. In their heated state they are expanded up to two or three times their volume at atmospheric temperatures. This increased volume makes it very diflicult to handle, process and clean the gases. By cooling them down as quickly and efiiciently V as possible, their volume is reduced sharply and they are.

rendered easier to wash.

A third reason it is desirable to extract as much heat as possible from the cupola gases is that their high temperature tends to deteriorate rapidly the equipment used in handling the gases. In certain instances parts of the prior types of equipment have been known to expand and buckle, to rust and burn through, because of the extremely high temperature present in the exhaust gases from the cupola furnace.

A number of different types of prior arrangements for cooling and cleaning gases discharged. from cupola furnaces have been proposed and tried, but these prior arrangements have all sufiered from a number of operational limitations and inefliciencies andhave required extensive maintenance to keep them in operation. .Among the limitations and difiiculties experienced with the prior heat exchangers are their low heat exchange efficiency. Only a small portion of the available heat is extracted from the exhaust gases. Their temperature remains unduly high, causing excessive deterioration of the equipment. The high temperature causes a poor washing operation so that dense clouds of dirt are discharged from the exhaust stacks into the atmosphere around the foundries. And as a result of such ineflicient heat exchange, the intake air to the cupola furnace is often found to be colder than desired, and a less efiicient and wasteful heating operation takes place in the furnace itself. Also, the low temperature causes the heating of the metal to take place more slowly, leading to an increased amount of labor time and cost per ton being produced, and correspondingly reducing the tonnage output per furnace.

Another difiiculty with prior heat exchange equipment is that rapid deterioration often takes place, and the equipment has a very short operating life. Considerable expansion and contraction occurs in operation and these changes in dimensions are not compensated for. In certain instances, the upper plates of the heat exchangers have become buckled and burned through under the impact of the flaming carbon monoxide gas being discharged.

Then, dirt-laden hot exhaust gases are spewed from the suflers from warping and binding of the flue tubes, and

the replacement of burned out tubes is then accomplished increasing the hazard of 9 1 311 3 cut ing heni out 'gvelding new Ones inplace. This results .in excessive maintrap the particles terval handles large earse-w ex change'riincludesbafiie s; "able turbulence ri th' hof 3 with an oxyacetylene torch and tenance costs and lengthy periods of down time for the furnace; Moreover, in such instances, it is necessary t allow the heat exchanger tofcool down toisucha low t erature thatthe men can enter. and. cut awaytheflue placed. Thus, the amount ofwasted time l2 ns t Qllfid lather: maintenan e is veryih 7 other problem usuallyencouutefredinlhe operation hf types of heatexchangers is ,that.their.heat-' exchange surfaces become coated and corroded. v.S uch cgating decreases thecoethci ent of heattransfer at the face and further re gt is the eflicieney Jot the exch prior cit changers itgis iawkw ard fo'r emit??? P .sonnel to reach ,the heat .exchangesur i ists 212 342 becau e .etwa pinsa if tu es, pa tial d ma tli of the heat exchanger n (precede each rgutlne clfiani got the heat exchange su faces I ults i1X $iYQ maintenance costs and lengthype rio'dsfo own time. V

ofthe r equipm e t in manyjnstances serves to so that they pileup and actually choke qfif a {arse ne tq t e W of he ase A f q y' s"these 'prior heat exchangers must beallowed to so that men can enter and shoveloutthe collected ff solid materialsf w i ongYh many advantages of the heat exchanger is de ribedfasan illustrative embodiment of the on are those resultingfrcimthe fact that it volumes of heated gases iron; the' cupola furnace over long periods of time without deterioration an d'without re ninn aq extensive or awkward mainfiend a me e fi c e 'e h seq eat am h Moreover, the intake air cha rv e i exy sa tu es: ds, ny. pp. r rfity or bi din he e tficiency' o ,Tt'he heat. exchange operah this improved heatexchangerangl he.-

iis i n be mnf on im ly t t mu y e i ds. for

ejth'an' is; customarily obtained with prior. equip; ment, and the overalho' "rationof the lciipola furnace is' 'thus improved, cutt j H V r d make each ton of steel.

Among' the further advantages of. the heat exchange apparatus described herein arefthose'jresul'ting. from the ra that it is readily installed isideiby-side with theicup ola. furnace'andiis adapted to'lre'eeiyethe hotfgasesdirectlyiat thetop. lt enables a short rugged duct arrangement to. b used r A I the't'opof the heat eichanger; Thelefi'ijciencylofirtheheati excl-ran r nable's'th'e handling o fjv ry la leading'fro m the top df-the furnac' directly into in a'relatively smaller;

9 theube an itJiST A.

he of time requiredwtoj d' down through.

ing process. These spray nozzles further cool the gases,

re u th r vel mesan. t ne andae pme ate e t i im e s qnis be. re tts r eeh' t washer. This enables quicker and easier removalin'the washer. I

The improved gas washing apparatus described herein is particularly well suited for receiving the cooled gases from the e atsh s sn Ame i :thsas teata of this improved ga s'washing apparatus are those resulting from the fact that the incoming gas is enabled to be blown downwardly directly intothe gas washing chamber in the center of the apparatus. Thus, the heavier particles are hurleddovm :thr oughdhe gas washing chamber and of direction near the entrance.

0 5 of'the: heat exchanger described 7 intake air as it is being warmed up flows anytime dur ng 57 7 top.

cooling, intake airisfat a considerably ln' gher. ternautomatically-become trapped inthe washing liquid bath at .the bottom. A very favorable uniform distribution of. the'intake gases occurs because theyfiow directlyldown into the unit Without anyreguirement for abrupt reversal Any tendency for the g'asebome particles to accumulate .or coat over any of the surfaces near .the entrance to the washer is substantially eliminated by the smooth-rapid downward flow obtained. i

e A further advantage is that substantially all of the washing. actionoccurs as the incominggases are passing downwardly. through the apparatus. Thus, the droplets oiwashingliquid are more readily removed', forthe gases,

after being washed, are abruptlyreversed in direction, passing upwardlythrough a'largef annular moisture elimination compartment. sudden deceleration in the gases occurs as .theypass upwardlyin this chamber; and--in to the battles, and-substantially all: f-the moisture-is advantageouslyremoved'froin the gas.

Also, the 'nioisture eliminator orbafile compartment-hasan -annular form ofa much largercross sectional areathan that in the washing chamherresulting in a relatively slower flow of-the washed gases" therethroiigh. The over-. all operation of the washer provides increased eflic'iency and a reduced; amount of'maintenance isnec ssary.

The various. aspects, features, objects and advantages, of -vthe present invention will be more fully'understod from aconsideration of the following description in corn junction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is an elevational view showing at the left a cupola furnace; an improvedheat exchanger embodying the-present inv'ention is shown near the center of the drawing fand at the right illustrated an improved gas vvashing' apparatusdischarging intoa vertical. stack at e an el tiena x a eet qnar ew n enlifed 8051s.? 39" ter wihest x eneer he niq Figure 1 embodying the present invention;

'Fieur fl e tisna l e eael n as lue 3-star Fi u e eak n -down rd and ha n fF ll sfi s sexes? sse aaL iew hreash-th smbe wh le s. h ne Qt. r sen 5. s a

e. 7 s;. ,P. e ev tist al o e eetiena n w an en ed s et e e t nsatid' upp r n 01 h? nryes lair.

Figure 9 is a cross sectional view, on enlarged scale,

showing the liquid elevating pump at the lower end of the drive shaft; and

Figure 10 is a partial sectional view along the line 10-10 in Figure 9.

General description of the improved heat exchange system for cooling and cleaning gas and its operation purposes of clarity. For example, such equipment as coke and limestone hoppers, travelling cranes, railroad tracks and various chutes and pipes and trussess for the operation of the equipment are not included in this drawing. This drawing illustrates an installation in which the top of the cupola furnace at 11 is more than 90 feet above the floor level as shown at the lower left at 16.

In operation, the cupola furnace 10 is charged and as the metal is being melted the gaseous by-products usually including burning carbon monoxide, and vast quantities of solid particles ranging from ultra-microscopic size up .to the size of small clinkers rise up from the body of the furnace into the top and are discharged through a short convenient and rugged horizontal intake duct 18 directly into the top 2% of the heat exchanger 12. In certain installations an initial reduction in temperature is obtained in the duct 18 by supplying cooling water through a manifold 17 and feeding the water to a number of pipes 19 connected to a series of spray nozzles directed into the interior of the duct 18. It is to be noted how conveniently this heat exchanger 12 is positioned adjacent to the cupola furnace and that it enables the utilization of a relatively short straight duct to feed the hot gases and particles into the top of the heat exchanger.

These hot gases pass down through the body of the heat exchanger as indicated in Figure 2 by the arrows 22 and 24. In flowing down through the heat exchanger the gases pass a plurality of conical bafiies 26 which, advantageously, act as collectors for the fly ash and larger particles. When these gases reach the bottom of the heat exchanger, they make an abrupt turn, shown at 24 and pass up through an exchanger discharge duct 28. These cool gases pass over through a short coupling duct 30 directly into a sweepingly curved washer intake manifold 34 leading directly down into a circular central gas washing chamber 38 of the gas washing apparatus 14.

After passing through the dense spray 40 of washing liquid in the chamber 33, the washer gases sweep down as shown at 42 through an additional high velocity spray 44 of denser and larger droplets for scavenging the smaller droplets. The washed gases then pass up through an annular moisture eliminator plenum chamber 46 including suitable moisture eliminating baffles 48. As shown by the arrow 49, the dried gases flow into an annular outlet manifold 50 surrounding the washing chamber 38 above the annular chamber 46. From the outlet manifold 50 the gases pass over through an outlet duct 52 into a large capacity centrifugal type pump, generally indicated at 54, and are discharged up the stack 56 into the atmosphere with substantially all of the particles of Whatever size removed therefrom.

In order to feed the cupola furnace 10 with suitably preheated air, large quantities of fresh air are drawn in from the atmosphere by a blower (not shown) and driven through a fresh air intake pipe 60 leading to an annular fresh air intake manifold 62 which surrounds the top manifold 62.

6 of the heat exchanger just below the hot gas duct 18 From the annular manifold 62 the fresh air is substantially uniformly distributed through flexible elbow cou-' plings 64 into a plurality of cool air inlet pipes 66 extending down vertically within the heat exchanger tube: 68.

As shown in Figure 5, this fresh air returns upwardly through. the heat exchanger tubes 68. The fresh air flows up through the annular space outside the inlet pipes 66 and within the heat exchanger tubes 68.

Thus, the fresh air is efiiciently heated and is then col-.

lected in an annular hot air manifold 70 surrounding the heat exchanger near the top and just below the intake Then the preheated air passes over and down through a vertical supply stack 72 which leads down to. a preheated air supply manifold 74 surrounding the body of the cupola furnace below the combustion zone. From this manifold 74 the preheated air is injected into the cupola furnace.

The high temperature of this preheated air enables a more eflicient and rapid heating of the metal in the cupola furnace 10. Molten metal is withdrawn from the furnace as needed through the pouring spout 76.

Detailed description of the apparatus and its operation The construction of the improved heat exchanger apparatus is shown in detail in Figures 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7, and attention is directed more particularly to these figures in the first part of the following description. The heat exchanger includes a cylindrical steel shell supported at the top from a suitable truss 82 and braced at the bottom by a large beam 84. A high temperature refractory type heat insulation layer 86 is secured to the inner surface of the shell 80. At the bottom, the heat exchanger is connected into the enlarged mouth of a discharge collection cone 88 converging downwardly whose lower end empties into a flush-out and dirt collection and drainage pipe 90 having a diameter of about 8 inches.

The top 20 of the heat exchanger comprises a cylindrical shell 92 lined with a heat insulation layer 86. The diameter of this top shell 92 is about one-half the diameter of the main shell 80 and it is joined to the main shell by an annular supporting ledge 94 from which the heat exchanger tubes 68 are suspended. Seat rings 96 are secured around a number of openings in the ledge 94 and provide annular seating surfaces 98 at an angle of about 60 with respect to the horizontal. These seating surfaces mate with corresponding surfaces on collars 100 welded around the upper ends of the heat exchanger tubes. Thus, the heat exchanger tubes hang vertically in the heat exchanger and readily accommodate all dimensional changes. Hoisting eyes 102 project up from the upper surfaces of these collars for ease in lifting out and replacing the tubes.

A second annular supporting ledge 104 surrounds the upper shell 92 and forms the top of the hot air manifold 70. This ledge 104 has a number of openings directly over corresponding ones in the ledge 94. These upper openings in the ledge 104 are larger than the lower ones so as to admit the collars'100. These upper openings have removable cover plates 106 through which are hung the inlet pipes 66.

It is an advantage of this apparatus that the lower ends of the inlet pipes are spaced a substantial distance above the closed lower ends of the heat exchanger tubes 68. The inlet pipes are held centrally positioned within the tubes 68 by four radial guide vanes 108 secured to the pipes 66 and sliding freely against the inside surface of the tubes. Thus, this structure advantageously enables any relative expansion or contraction to take place between inlet pipe, heat exchanger tube and the frame of the heat exchanger itself.

Counter-current effective flow is obtained between the fresh cool air flowing up along the inner surfaces of the heat exchanger tubes and the hot gases flowing downwardly along their outer surfaces. Thus, ,a more efiicientjheatftransfer As' the. temperatureof the 16 s a mer e mes a e's n;

This appar' tus enables an easy procedure to be used flush out drain pipe 146.

in order to'rer npve a heat exchanger tube.-v eorrespending elhow eaa rmgs4fisf1bss'enea, and is inlet- F iPl s RR TPY JP1 t 196 sf i t ia va-I Then suitablehoisting equipment is hooked onto. .the eyes l0}. and the heat exchanger tuhe drawn 16m? i Nofwa rping and bin ing of the exchanger oecur s .-and they are'easily withdrawn and replaced'inabrief me. I

" To ,collectIthe' larger particles and clinlger sg l-fouiydown- W rdb" en ssi i edhan -bafi ql a ef i rna g along-thea'xis of the heat exchanger 'by-means of braces l'lflcantilevered infao'm} the shell sjo. j 'rae'iipper 'wid'e w s ill e af es j e e eeti#s f ;2iw1i l are positioned below access doors 114 and used as work platforms These baflies and gratings cause turbulence in the rapidly movinghot gases'and thusprolet ports 142 interconnecting the annularplenum cham- 46fiviflljflie outletffiiahifld sol i l 'At'the' lower end of "the outer wall 140 is a. sludge collection cone 144 which forms. the bottom of the gas washer"and"is"connected down into a 6 inch diameter is a reservoir 1480f gas'washing liquid with 1a 'levelias shown spaced a substantial distance below*'the lower lip 136, The spacing of the liquid level below the lip 136 is generally commensiirate'with the spacing between the inner aiid outerwalls'lw andf140, respectively.

" afpphcations water is' used to advantage without the use vide eflfective intimate contactbetween the exhaust gases and the surfaces of all of the tubes;

Particles collected by the respectivebaifles 26 are momentarily arrested and then they drop down from bafile o b tt e hrough the r x ally a gned. cen ra p iiigs and into the collection cone '88 wherfef'they"'af re readily flushed'out.

'In order to cooLfurther theseexhaust gases after leaving the heatfexchange ione} a-wa ter injection pipe 116 runs up just above the side openingj24vwhichfleadsinto the exchanger discharge duct 2 28, This pipe 'feeds a straight nozzle 118, aimed. up at affiat' circular deflector plate 120 creating a denseannular spray as indicated;

initial agglomeration ofthe smaller particles is begun by the wetting action ofjthe'sprayfrom'this nozzle 7 and plate. This water spray usually contains suitablewetting agents. The pipeg lll d is fed under pres-f sure fromw a-rugged non-clogging centrifugal'pum'p such" as is disclosedj in my copending application Serial No.- 357 450, filedjMay 2 6, I953,now Bat'ehtlflo. 2390,6541

ranted-tuners; 195,9.. r

' While they: are -ii'lowing.up the. discharge: duct 28: the exhaust gases are further cooled andjnioiStned by a Z ofjhighpressure sprays 110211512 191 and 126, fed from the-same pump asthefpipellti. T he excess liquid flushes down the collectioncone l gfijnand returns. throughthe pipe 90 toa suitable settling tank, not shown, in which" the pump is i nmersed i f The improved air washer shown :Riguie A is very fis ti e chafing many 'difler t es ct-e atam at-l n a e from ses- F sxamr this app a s d o ad a a e. inn mer us ndust ial app i ations in removing from the air such various typesobboth liquid and. solidparticles; as occ'ur .in smoke, :scarfingdust, the

compounds and dust: from bufiing-nperations, ferrous;

and-non-ferrous metal igrindingsypar'ticles from shot peening work, paintl droplets .and particlesfrom paint spray operationa and this apparatus is :veryeffective 'in removing various chemical fumes from the air', such as those-over electro-pl-ating baths. V p

A very efiiciency cfi ptiveness is obtained with this-gas wa shingapparatus coupled to' the heat exchange apparatus described abo ve. Thisimprbved gas washing apparatus includes aninner um an-warns;

open at the top and connected to'the mouth ofa,diverging int'ake chain-her 132 defined by a truncated conical 311,134 connected at its"up pe r end tothe gradually curved intake manifold 3.4. The iowerena of the'inner cylindrical 130 has .a shortc onverging-lip 136 and opens down near the dense scavenging .spray..44, SUI-V mend ng. t in e dr a l 31 andv ee her t pm by a hotizqnt rann a pa i'd n ..l an outergcyljndricalzwall 14.0 pier ed. bymuugh rlof.

The washing liquid'w'nich may be used andwhich I find to he highly. .eifective in its: cleaning'ioffthe :gas'es an aqueous s olntionlcontaining wetting agent's,"'foaui" inhib g agents and corrosion inhibitors. 'In certain of. some or are; these additives, 'dep'endinfg uponthe agents present.

washer provides many advantages. Arnong these 'advantage's' are those'resulting from the fact that the 'ificomin'g contaminated gases blow directly down and into the gas washing chamber without encountering any abrupt changes in flow pattern. In the diverging intake chamber 132 the walls recede from the contaminated gases and face downwardly afan. angle affording little opportunity for the solid particles to build up any depbsits'on the Wall 134, In this intake chamber the gases are slowed idownisomewhat'by the increase in cross sectional area and then flow directly jinto the gas washing chamber '38 atia desirahlygf ast rate. Thus, a 'suhstan i ly u fc nd t i u io n h ow p e f he se l e flt a hin h m er is b ei e hese i y ati pc p is bs an a v eq a rr di qo pndi io qj fiie l a h I'h'larger 'clinker s'ize' partic es are hurled straight with uniformly spaced vertical fods liolextending down from its perimeter and are held rigidly spaced -fromeach other at their lower endsby a ring-158 seen in sectionj Washing liquid isprojected rapidlykup "into this' c ge;

through the. opening the 158, as explained at": low; liquidstrikes the underside of=the rapidly rotating disk-154 andis struck by the-rapidly revolving dsji. a d is 'flfi s t t er e hi hrea ea- {0 This spray has droplets' of substantialiy unif orrn the contaminating particles and caniesthemover onto the'inner surface of the .wall 13;}. 'The'liq'u idi'rom' the spray 40 cascades down the inner surface of the. wall 1;;0 and flushes down all of the agglomerated particles as indicated atlhl. {This dirty washing liquid cascades down past the lip 132 .v Which advantageously deflects it inwardly so as to .forrna curtain 192Which advantaglelo usly resists the gas how .42. And then the curtain 19 2 penetrates andlis caught by the scavenging sprayfii.

A eflicient cleaning action occurs in chamber 38] by virtue o f -the:uniiorm gas flow distribution andfthe dense uniform spray and the other advantageous factors: is u ss aho 1 In order to'turn the shaft 152, -a powerful electric motor, forexample, such as 'a three-phase induction motor 1550 having a rating in the range, for example,

rQm e hu dr d si al' llfldm H71 i i Sfilmqtg i shown a bsin e fili-ig xf i s 9 41123??- mm .1 2. textua at th e ht 9 the .1 31 2 11 5 In this collehtion'cone' 144,

conditionsfofltheexhaust gases and thefcoiitaininating fold opposite the outlet duct 52. In certain installations it is desirable to mount the motor 160 on a suitable support outside of the outer wall 140 and to utilize the space 162 for added gas flow capacity. This motor is shown mounted by means of a vertical pivot 164 so that its position can be adjusted to tension properly the multiple V-belt drive 166 which runs over through a narrow housing 168 to driven pulleys secured to the upper end of the shaft 152.

At its upper end the shaft 152 is supported in a hearing 170 held by several radial braces 172 extending out to the inner wall 130. A cylindrical casing 174 surrounds the bearing 170 and extends down to a position closely above the top of the cage 150.

At its lower end the shaft 152 is supported in a second bearing 176 which is located within the bore in the lower end of the drive shaft 152 and above the liquid level in the reservoir and held by braces 178 extending out to the cone 144, as described in detail hereinafter.

In order to throw the liquid up into the upper cage 150 a submerged pump 1S0 sucks the liquid up through its annular intake 182 and propels large quantities of this liquid vertically up along the shaft 152 and in through the ring 158.

A second spray-generating cage 184 is secured to the shaft 152 just above the top or discharge end of the pump 180. This second cage includes top and bottom rings 186 and 188 each held to the shaft by a plurality of spokes, thus leaving numerous large openings up through which the liquid is propelled into the upper cage. A number of uniformly spaced vertical rods 190 extend vertically between these latter rings. The lower ring 188 and a small portion of the bottom end of each rod 190, for example, such as the lowest two inches of the rods, are below the liquid level. Large quantities of liquid are also fed up into the cage 184 by the pump 180 so as to be struck by the rods 190 and broken up into a dense scavenging spray 44 of somewhat larger droplets than in the spray 40. In addition to the liquid propelled up by the pump, the submerged ring 188 and lower portions of the rods 190 create vast quantities of a dense spray also of larger droplets which merge into and augment the scavenging spray 44 coming from the upper portions of the rods 190.

The larger droplets in this scavenging spray advantageously entrap any fine liquid droplets which otherwise might tend to blow out of the apparatus along with the gas stream 42. By virtue of the curtain of liquid 192 intersecting and penetrating the scavenging spray 44, the gas flow 42 is forced at all points into intimate contact with the scavenging spray, both as the gas initially flows downwardly inside of the curtain 192 and then as it flows up outside of this curtain 192 through the spray 44 into the moisture eliminator plenum chamber 46, as indicated by the arrow 42. The liquid from the spray 44 and curtain 192 runs down the inner Wall of the cone 144.

In many cases it is desirable to maintain a continued flush out action in the reservoir 148 by means of an upwardly directed nozzle in the center of the drain pipe 146 as shown in detail and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 399,438 filed December 21, 1953. The desired liquid level in the reservoir is maintained by a suitable overflow pipe 194 leading down into a settling tank (not shown) to which the pipe 146 is also connected.

This gas washing apparatus is adapted to handle large quantities of gases rapidly and efiiciently, for example, the volume of gas may range from 75,000 to 90,000 cubic feet per minute.

The cages 150 and 184 are approximately 18 inches in diameter and are each approximately 2 feet long, the upper cage being shown approximately 30% longer than the lower cage. The drive shaft 152 is turned at approximately 800 r.p.m.

As illustrated in Figures 9 and the ring 188 for the lower cage is supported by spokes 189 which are inclined at an angle to the horizontal in the range from 20 to 85 depending upon the cage diameter, speed of the shaft 152, and the vertical velocity of the liquid ejected up by the pump 180. With the cage diameter and 800 rpm. described above, the angle of 75 is advantageous.

The ring 186 at the upper end of the lower cage is supported by inclined vane spokes similar to the spokes 189 i for the lower ring. In certain installations, for example,

where a higher shaft speed is used, similar inclined vane spokes also are used for the ring 158.

These sets of inclined vane spokes form propellers which accelerate the liquid up into the lower cage and up through the lower cage into the upper cage.

The pump 180 includes a cylindrical casing 193 and a hub structure 194. Impeller vanes 196 project out from the hub and have their outer edges closely adjacent to the inner surface of the casing 193. These vanes impel the liquid up into the spray-generating cages at a rapid rate in a large volume. A pump such as that described in US. Patent No. 2,599,202 may be used. The liquid is distributed along the rods 1% and 156, producing uniform and dense spray patterns in the regions 40 and 44'. The various sets of inclined vane spokes, such as the inclined vane spokes 189 give a further boosting action to these large volumes of upwardly travelling liquid.

The lower bearing 176 is supported on a fixed central shaft 198 projecting up into the gun-bored lower end of the drive shaft 152 to a height above the liquid level.

A plurality of radial braces 200 extending across the intake support the shaft 198.

As the gas moves up through the plenum chamber 46 its velocity is slower because of the increased cross sectional area, reducingany tendency to carry out fine droplets of the liquid. In passing through the sets of moisture eliminator bafiles, further traces of the droplets are removed.

In a particular gas washing machine as shown in Figure 4 the gas washing chamber 38 has a diameter of 9 In the improved heat exchanger described herein a pipe is illustrated projecting into a tube in spaced rela tionship therewith defining an annular space therebetween. As used herein the term pipe and tube are intended to include passage defining means having any manner of cross sectional form, for example, such as rectangular, triangular, oval, and the like. And the term annular is intended to include any form of space, shape or seat, for example, such as the annular space encircling the inner passage defining means or pipe and Within the outer passage defining means or tube.

In most applications the circular cross section is advantageous for the pipe and tube, in view of the strength.

' However, in certain instances where it is desired to increase the outside surface area of the tubes with respect to their cross sectional areas, more irregular cross sectional shapes, such as those mentioned above, are of advantage.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the embodiment of the present invention described above is well suited to provide the many advantages set forth, and since different embodiments may be made of this invention and as the apparatus herein described may be varied in various parts, all without departing from the scope of the invention, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense and that in certain instances, some of .the features of theinventignhtay be used without a cdfre'spondiiig'use of other features, or without departing frforn the scopeoffthe invention; 7

is'clair'nedis':

1 An improved heat jekchanger" including walls defining an upright heat exchange chamber adaptecffor the passage o fual gas downwardly. therethrough '12 I end of the tube intowhich it proi ec :ts fluid cc iveyir g means connected to said pipes for conveying fluid down; into"saidflpips, the fluid rising up through thewannular I space between the outer surface of thelpipe and the in;

a means-defining a chamber; for receiving the:

means suspendingsaid; substan-tialljig vertically? within said chamber in an annular configurationfiro-rh ,a point near their upper ends, the lower. endsofsa'id tubesbeing closed, supply pipes having outer dimensions a less than the inner dimensions of said tubes, second mounting means suspending. said pipes from points near their upper time withth lower ends of said. pipes ex tendingdown into said tubes, the interior oftsaid pipes communicating at points, neartheir lower ends with the annular s'paces within said tubes and around said pipes,

and aplurality of downwardly funnel-shapedbafiies saidhe at exchange chamber, said funnel-shaped baifiesbeing spaced vertically along the axis of said heat 7 elichan ger and within the annular configuration of said heat exchange tubes, said baflfles having central openin gs at v the bottom thereof each positioned on the axisof said heatexchangefand vertically aligned one above'another, saidbaflies; being adapted to trap particles in saidgajs and to discharge the particles :down

through said central openings, said 'baffles alsoibeing adapted to-cause'turbulence in'the' gas as it engages said. a h a x a u e u flsra wfins enswit l bha'mber'bneath di i embe sr hedwe oo n o fia s' ambe n iu a drain p era d i 3 Sp ay en Pa t l ra p d he n-1 :1 1 mPrQ d heet xqham as c e m s r we wh r n aid p y ene t n m an v s @21 1 etd r c d ozzle and: a sub a ia r mama baifle plate spaced thereabove. V

fluid vrising hem said tub es," and apluralitj of idown wardlyl' converging funnel-shaped bafiies spaced vertical: I 1y one above another along the axis of 's aid charnber Within the circular pattem ofi said heat exchange tubes, said bafiies being adapted to 'trapr particles the i and a openings r is a sha t e RePE P r i d nwerd g Said 31 usipgi t e heated fluid to impinge with turbulence upon-said tubesr 4; An improved heat exchanger for 'handling hpt gases containing particles "such; as fly ash comprising an up right h mb Y ns-f yl i el e l nd; qmi d onv r n ttq af h an utletflmh at he; low point ofth e bot tom, said chan ber havingan inlet for he h 'etisass e r h a n o t aws? he bottom, a P ua1 tY1 he t h x e be -hams. l s lowr nds ut u vr means -sai ube? suspending said tubes vertically in a circular pattern said chamber near its cylindrical wall agpluralityf i PP Y. Pi es in a ate!- m ns s e that h inner mens f bi 9nd p soim an r. positioned above saidfirst support means, said second: support meanssuspendingv said pipes frorn points-near their upper ends; with the lower end s'of saidpipes-extendingfdowninto said tubesralmost to tliejlower ends ted; lp r l 'fi we; 9e s a flsw ra e ti-r ll waged P iti a uralit n awnwa l nverging i a fles ms i eq' vm ca ly one] abo e @Qth' al th sai h mb within, the s l s whats; rapp n he a rt q e h s said baffles n -Penna! pe ing dis ar n down-r:

3 .--A heat exchanger comprising means. defining an pr h cylindrical cham r ha n t fluidinlet n 'e top a nd a fluid outlet near' the bottom and adapted ,to

conveyaheated fluid down through'said chamber,- first mounting means; extending over the topjof said" cherr a y:. 9n rs ne1 niq l urfaces s rre ud fihe;

m r eid annular sea s: e n a ran ed i ici j le pattern near the inner wall surface of said cylindrical chamber, a plurality of vertical heat, exchange tubes,

eachpf' said tubes having a5 flange thereon near itsfup per end with a conical surface on; the flange-converging downwardly, each oi said tubes projecting down through one ofsaidopenings into said-chamber with the conical: surface; on the-flange bearing against and being support- 7 ed by the'conical surface of the annular'seat, the lower end 0t each tube being closed; said-tubesbeing in a cir- I cularpattern closely adjacent to theinne'r wall surface:

of said chamhersecondirnounting means. above said first -mounting meansand having a: plurality 'of annular'seats with openings therethrough-which are larger than the diarneterofthe fianges on said-tubes,-a plurality of-Ver tical pipes, each of said pipesprojecting down through the openings of the; second mounting means and hava ing a flange on its upper end engagin'g-the annular seats of the-second mountingimeans for supporting the pipes with the lower end of each pipe near the closed lower l 1 i xis? i e a smsm:

berf extendinjg over the top of ,saidbafllessstruc ta m fi s idbefi i lfi els w hin ai said accessfioors whereby saidgrating members PIS): Vida footing support means for workmen witlnn saidi ham er, s i ba fies g d at ng be s a s n i e hot gas to impinge upon said tubes with; turbulence;

st y sree i the hee -s iqhan Re xense Ci sq the fili t fih s te t- I UNITED STATESPATBNTS- 

